Five questions facing Georgia’s Mark Richt
The AJC did a good job this morning of breaking down issues that have contributed to Georgia’s 4-4 season. I thought Jeff Schultz made the central point when he wrote that Mark Richt didn’t suddenly become a bad coach after winning two SEC championships (2002, 2005) and playing for another (2003). When football teams have a bad season like this, the head coach has to be willing to look at everything and everybody in the offseason. In the final analysis, it really comes down to five questions that Richt musk ask and answer:
1. Despite what the recruiting services say, is Georgia recruiting the caliber of athlete that allows the Bulldogs to compete for the SEC championship? A big part of coaching that fans rarely talk about is the ability of a staff to evaluate talent and make decisions on players. If you are signing the players you want but still getting bad results, then maybe you have a problem in evaluating talent. Example: A couple of years ago the Georgia staff had to make a decision between running backs Caleb King and Jonathan Dwyer. King has been an average player at best for Georgia. Dwyer went to Georgia Tech and became the ACC Player of the Year.
Bobby Bowden once told me that the only reason he signed quarterback Charlie Ward was because the late Wayne McDuffie stood on a chair in a staff meeting and screamed that the Seminoles had to take the skinny kid out of Thomasville. Ward led the Seminoles to the national championship in 1993. Those kinds of decisions over the long haul can make or break a program.
I remember that when Jimmy Johnson was at Miami, his recruiting classes rarely made the Top 25. But the players he put on the field could run like the wind. That’s because Johnson was great at evaluating talent.
2. Is Georgia coaching the players it has up to their full potential? Steve Spurrier told me a long time ago that players tend to play the way they’ve been coached. If they play sloppy, then they’ve been coached sloppy. Excessive penalties and turnovers are a sign of some sloppiness in the program. It must be addressed and Richt must decide if his current staff is capable of fixing the problem. Sometimes head coaches must shake up the staff to send a message to everybody—players, trainers, water boys and other coaches—that mediocrity won’t be tolerated. It’s tough to do. But the great coaches do it when necessary.
3. Is the offseason conditioning program what it should be? I don’t know the answer to this but the question has to be asked. I do know that after Florida won the national championship in 2008, coach Urban Meyer told me that he had instructed his strength and conditioning staff to put the Gators through one of the toughest offseason programs ever. Why? “Complacency,” Meyer said. “We want them to understand that they cannot, for one minute, take credit for what last year’s team did. If they want to compete for another national championship, they have to earn it.” I talked to a number of Florida players who said they got the message.
Jeff Schultz wrote about the edge that some teams—like Florida and Alabama—have and the fact that Georgia doesn’t seem to have it. If you have good players, then that edge is created in the offseason workouts. Again, it’s a tough question because Georgia’s strength and conditioning people are considered to be some of the best. But you have to ask.
4. Do I need to have a conversation with my athletic director about scheduling? Fans don’t want to hear this. They want you to play eight SEC games, four big-time non-conference games, and win them all. That is simply not the way the world works. I think it’s great that Georgia went out and played Oklahoma State on Sept. 5. But the fact of the matter is that while Georgia was opening the season with seven straight opponents from BCS schools (with four of them on the road), Florida was tuning up for its first SEC game by playing Charleston Southern and Troy. Sure, Alabama played Virginia Tech but that game was in Atlanta, a short drive away. And before Alabama played its first conference game it also faced Florida International (2-6) and North Texas (2-6). It’s a good thing that athletics director Damon Evans wants to spread the Georgia brand all over the country, but you also have to look at what your competition is doing and be realistic about what you are asking players to do.
5. Does the head coach need to step up his game? First of all, I don’t buy the idea that Mark Richt has to change his basic personality. You have to be who you are. Mark Richt’s personality was embraced when he was winning SEC championships in 2002 and 2005. I can’t tell you how many Georgia people have told me with pride that: “He’s the perfect coach for us. This guy will never embarrass us.” Now that Georgia is having a bad season, Richt’s “nice guy” status comes into question. The thinking seems to be that a nice guy can’t compete with Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, and Lane Kiffin. I simply disagree. The truth is that Richt has an edge to him when he gets mad that few people outside the program ever see. He might want to show that a little more often.
But what the head coach can do, after he has evaluated all of the other areas in the program, is look in the mirror and decide if he needs to change his approach on a more fundamental level.
Bear Bryant faced such a crossroads in 1969 and 1970 when he had back-to-back teams that only won six games. People started saying Bryant was too old and that the game had passed him by. After the 1970 season Bryant told his staff that Alabama was switching to the wishbone offense and that everybody had to get with the program or get out of town. Starting in 1971 Alabama went on an 11-year run where the Crimson Tide won 116 games, nine SEC championships and three national championships.
In 1974 Vince Dooley’s defense was so bad that he actually told some friends that he would get out of coaching if he couldn’t get it turned around soon. Dooley made some adjustments and Georgia went to the Cotton Bowl in 1975 and won the SEC championship in 1976. And you know what happened in the early 80s.
The point is that the great coaches adjust and adapt when the tough times inevitably come. After this season is over, Georgia’s Mark Richt will face one of those times.
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623 comments Add your comment
RAMBLE ON!!!
November 4th, 2009
9:24 am
1st!?!
RAMBLE ON!!!
November 4th, 2009
9:24 am
Yes!!!
Scout Dawg
November 4th, 2009
9:25 am
amen brother.
Fleischman in Chi Town's bed
November 4th, 2009
9:26 am
6. What is your favorite place to tan in Athens?
Steve
November 4th, 2009
9:27 am
Ealey: Spikes shouldn’t be suspended
Hey, Mr. Drama Queen CFB, where’s your expose today on this topic?
Yeah, too busy. Thought so.
Fat American
November 4th, 2009
9:28 am
Three words:
Martinez must go.
WTH
November 4th, 2009
9:28 am
Yea, but if Dwyer played in the SEC he probably would not even start. After all, he is playing in a high school offense. Isn’t that right Dawg fans?
Colin
November 4th, 2009
9:29 am
Good Article – I think Richt should stay at Georgia. It is too easy to look at a season or two and pass judgment. You should have enough “Grohmentum” before you should be fired. A couple of changes could turn Georgia back into the team that blasted LSU last year.
Ramblin Wreckers....
November 4th, 2009
9:30 am
Tony, great article this morning. Serious Georgia fan and I think your comments speak truth. Sometimes changes are needed and Coach Richt will do the right thing.
RAMBLE ON!!!
November 4th, 2009
9:30 am
That was a good about the scheduling Tony…and where is OSU ranked again?
CMR is a good coach. He’ll dump Willie (Please Don’t!!!), and take over the play calling duties next year. Bobo will be QB coach. That still won’t stop him from losing 3 in a row to GT next year though.
I’m out, I can’t find my bluebird.
me
November 4th, 2009
9:32 am
NOT FIRST!
Ted Striker
November 4th, 2009
9:32 am
Nice analysis.
m
November 4th, 2009
9:33 am
Tony..it is obvious from you column that you are just as big a crybaby dawg as all the other dawg fans and their coaches and players. ugag has become pussified….might as well change their name to the bullkitties.
It is so obvious that Paul Johnson is going to kick ugag’s arse from now on…bend over dawgs…it is coming. Again and again.
Ramblin Rick
November 4th, 2009
9:34 am
Who cares about Mark Richt and those pathetic losers in Athens ???
Lets talk about some relevant football teams.
Gator Al
November 4th, 2009
9:34 am
Richt has lost it, Gators will rule Georgia as long as he is there and beyond.
Miles
November 4th, 2009
9:36 am
Mr. Barnhart, whereas you have an incredible amount of understanding for Richt’s situation, you certainly didn’t have the same amount of discernment for Phil Fulmer.
Griffin Dawg
November 4th, 2009
9:42 am
I do think the dawgs need to shake up some coaching spots or at least concepts.
UGA has athletes, has facilities, has $ backing. UGA needs to get back to coaching basics and not worry about cool music, new uniforms, who they play, or where they play.
Poor play by the O (turnovers) leads to the D being tested (and failing) and things get worse and worse and worse.
UGA must establish the run and then protect the ball. This is not a new concept: all teams that have success in the SEC do this. Those teams that win with their D prevent this. When the run breaks down and turnovers happen everything goes down hill.
If UGA needs new schemes, or coaches, or players to make the run work then that’s what needs to happen but at “tailback U” if you can’t run the ball effectively enough to make the passing game have a chance then there is not much chance of a winning season.
RAMBLE ON!!!
November 4th, 2009
9:44 am
Oh yeah!!!
Otto
November 4th, 2009
9:44 am
#2 seems to speak for itself since ‘06.
What is CMR changing other than “practicing harder and working on wht the team did well”?
Really?
November 4th, 2009
9:48 am
RAMBLE ON!!! – OSU is ranked 19th in the nation! Funny how your Jackets break the top 10 for the first time in god knows how long and you act as if you guys are always in the top 10 every year and being #19 in the nation is horrible.
UGA_VII
November 4th, 2009
9:48 am
Will Muschamp?
Dawg Dab It
November 4th, 2009
9:49 am
8 SEC games, Georgia Tech, Clemson and 2 D1-AA schools
Bryan G.
November 4th, 2009
9:50 am
Question No. 6 should be “Does Richt have the guts to make the hard decisions or will he be too loyal?”
38-3
November 4th, 2009
9:52 am
RAMBLE ON!!! = owned by uga once again…regardless of the bad season, still got uga on that simple mind!
Dizzog
November 4th, 2009
9:52 am
Kirby Smart should replace Martinez: Former UGA player, great coordinator getting no respect for what he has done at ALA because of the massive ego of Nick Saban and the massive ignorance of the national media.
Chick - Fil - A Bowl Rings
November 4th, 2009
9:53 am
Still waiting on GT…
m-hater
November 4th, 2009
9:54 am
I love GT and hate “m”. If you are a Georgia fan please don’t judge us by clowns like this. Go ahead and put yellow fuzz on that list too.
Monticello Dawg
November 4th, 2009
9:54 am
A message for our Tech friends: Hunker down, Yellow Jackets, the Dogs are coming for you.
Otto Strahl
November 4th, 2009
9:55 am
Every single day, your program is getting better or it is getting worse. UGas has been getting worse since 2005. UGas staff was tops 4-5 years ago, and it is as good now as it was then, but several programs have elevated theirs. If you think the current UGA staff will consistently beat Urban Meyers, you are sadly mistaken.
JaxDawg
November 4th, 2009
9:56 am
Tony- all great points. Let me ask this, are these coaches too stuborn and set in their ways?
Let me explain, while myself and others aren’t “experts” our eyes don’t lie.
1.Willie Martinez has run the EXACT same scheme every week. He has two weeks to prepare for UF and has a blueprint laid out for him by Arkansas and Miss St, yet he runs the same soft zone prevent defense that he has every other week. Why can’t he see what he’s doing is not working and make adjustments if not a major overhaul to his approach.
2. Of UGAs 21 turnovers this season Cox is responsible for 13 of them himself. Yet we’re supposed to believe that he gives us the best chance to win. Based on what exactly? Looking back at the spring game, both Murray and Gray looked better. We can’t judge Gray because he’s only had a handful of snaps and they have either come where he’s in a terrible situation (1st and 10 on their own 5) or in a formation that would tip even my 10yr old that they’re going to run. Cox is not the future and I find it very hard to believe that either of the young QBs could do WORSE than he has. At least they’d get some PT for next season.
3. We heard all spring and summer long that penaltites would be a major point of focus. Well I don’t know what they’ve done, but their “focus” on the problem has actually made it worse.
4. Ealy is CLEARLY a better RB than King but King gets the nod because he pass protects better. Why can’t the coaches pull Ealy aside and coach him up. We KNOW he can run, it seems to me with a little extra work he can be coached up to pick up blitz packages.
5. This brings me to the overall lack of DISCIPLINE. I firmly beleive if you want to know how a team is coached simply look at how the players carry themselves on the field. Players WILL take on the persona of the their coaches.
-Coaches lack of preparation = players lack of confidence on the field
-Coaches poor game plan = players being out of position.
-Coaches lack of focus = players lack of focus on the field = stupid penalties
-Coaches lack of accountability = players lack of accountability
-Coaches lack of passion and intensity = players lack of passion and intensity
-Coaches walking around looking defeated and having no answers = the same from the players.
I agree too that Richt hasn’t all of a sudden lost his ability to coach but he MUST begin to make tough decisions, and understand that dead weight must be cut even if it is a long time friend. This is EXACTLY why you DON’T hire friends, more times than not it will end poorly. Was Bobby Bowden correct when he said he thinks Mark’s TOO NICE to be a head coach? I suppose we’ll find out this offseason.
I’m just surprised with the coaching staff’s overall unwillingness to change. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but it IS BROKEN so they need to fix it and fast!!!
Go Dawgs!
Ginger
November 4th, 2009
9:57 am
Good read Tony !! You hit on some major points to evaluate. I, too, have thought about the talent evaluation process….I think we are hitting and missing on some talent and need to work on this and we need to coach up the players we have….Alabama has a lot of 3 star players that have been coached up and are playing like 4 or 5 star players.
A big thing that UGA needs to look at when evaluating talent is a player’s work ethic and will to win. A big part of the reason that Tim Tebow and Rennie Curran both as so good is that they have a tremendous will to win…they just are not going to quit an do what it takes to get the job done….With some of our UGA players…I don’t read about them putting in extra work on their own, i.e. film study, conditioning… Great Preparation translates into great play on the field…Players have to be willing to do some work on their own to get better. Also, with Tebow and Curran…I don’t see them getting down and out on the field and not going 150 percent all of the time…they both play like wildfire all the time…always believing that one more great play will put their team in position to win. Some of our UGA players now just look at times like they are lost or that there is no fire in their bellies….SEC is big time league….You got to play with fire and emotion that is under control of course so you don’t make dumb penalties…but fire and believing that you are going to win the game the whole time…staying positive and elevating everyone around you. Creating turnovers, throwing great TD passes, fighting for extra yards after you have been hitting, not going down on the 1st hit, make the great catch, hitting hard in the secondary, breaking up that pass, making the tremendous interception…..You have to be a playmaker and it starts with being positive and determined to do it.
So my advice to Coach Richt……Recruiting players that do this…and this player may not be the 5 star player….He may be the 3 star that you coach up and that brings this burning desire in his belly to UGA to win…..TO WIN……Sign THESE TYPE OF PLAYERS
Denver Dog
November 4th, 2009
9:58 am
I’m sure that they will be addressed. I don’t know if those questions are spot on, but they are some of the questions for sure.
1) Good players are there, no doubt about it.
2) Who knows about the coaching up, it appears that they are not. When a high school kid comes in he can either improve, Pollack, Greene, or stay the same, Cox, Bryan Evans. Is that coaching or talent? Coaching, schemes?
3)Conditioning, something is wrong for sure with all of the knee injuries. UGA doesn’t seem to give out at the end of the game, so I’m not sure what part that plays
4) Tough scheduling for sure, but the vaunted computer ranking services don’t seem to think it is as tough as the rest of us do.
5)Dooley, Dean Smith, Mack Brown, were all hung in effigy, maybe Richt does need to step up his game, maybe he has, it is just behind schedule for the last couple of years. Coaching remains an issue on both sides of the ball and on special teams. A thorough reveiw has to be made. The team this year is young. No seniors on o line, and in that case, you need to be more coaching those young ones. GO DOGS regardless, it will be handled I’m sure.
Michael Stipe
November 4th, 2009
9:58 am
m, ramblin’ rick, ramble on, and all the other Yecccch sychophants, I’m going to go off my vegan diet from now until Nov. 28th to build up some nasty farts to aim at the whole lot of ya!!!
Eating some seafood gumbo now.
The Real SugarHillDawg
November 4th, 2009
9:58 am
The apocalypse is upon us, m is calling someone pussified!”Bitch” is M’s middle name. We might lose 3 in a row(and I highly doubt it) but you North Avenue Nerds will NEVER have a run of seven and you Geeks need to be thankful for beating UGA once or twice in a decade!!!
Tony has a burr in his saddle
November 4th, 2009
9:59 am
Monticello Dawg… lay off the crack pipe… Tech is going to beat you like the Gators did.. or Tenn.. take your pick.. Georgia is simply not good this year. It will be close, will be high scoring, but Tech is too good this year.
Dont burn your mobile home in anger.
Tony…. you have whined more this year than anyone I have seen.. my gosh… get over it.. you team sucks !
DoveDawg
November 4th, 2009
9:59 am
Dead on point, Tony. Hard decisions must be made over the offseason.
Jake
November 4th, 2009
10:01 am
Fulmer was a good ole boy too. Very careful with what he said. Lane is shaking things up and understands the core values of what it takes to turn a team around. Fulmer could not. Yeah, Lane has made big statements, but its seems the team responds. Mark, is going have to come to the table, show it on the field and make some examples out of some of the kids. They seem to like the red flags called on them. Pull a kid for creating a red flag. Fla. will do this in a second. Ga. is a on a south bound run-away train.
Gravy Train
November 4th, 2009
10:01 am
If UGA is so irrelevant, as the geeks say now, then why do they go out of their way making such claims? It is laughable that they have already written us off.
Coach Richt is still the best coach for this program, a rebuilding period should not change that in the minds of so called fans. He is the one that got us to the point where 10 wins is the status quo.
Was it Goff or Donnan that made you feel like we could play for conference championships?
I see that Oklahoma and USC are sufering from similar growing pains.
CMR must do whatever it takes to instill a workmans mentality in the minds of the coaches and players. Hard work is the foundation of any successful entity.
brew
November 4th, 2009
10:01 am
Last year, you could have substituted “Tennessee” for Georgia and “Fulmer” for Richt, as we went through the same things. Fulmer failed on 1,2,3, and 5 with 4 being unimportant given the failings of the other four.
Georgia and Richt are falling into that same trap right now. Hopefully for uga, Richt won’t fall back on talking about how much equity he has there.
TommyJack
November 4th, 2009
10:04 am
Richt = Phil Fulmer, Jr. (minus the ring)
Got 12?
November 4th, 2009
10:05 am
Dizzog,
UGA is a sinking ship. Kirby is too Smart (pun intended) to jump aboard.
Blaming Willie is en vogue but UGA has problems in all three facets of the game. It will take more than Kirby to save the day.
matanzas gator
November 4th, 2009
10:06 am
Georgia Fans,
Hold Your Hand Up High and Proud and Repeat:
Four Whole Wins!!!
Four Whole Wins!!!
Four Whole Wins!!!
D.Ellis
November 4th, 2009
10:06 am
M-I can understand your love for Paul Johnson and the Jackets. His a very good coach that has is doing great things for GT and it’s fans.
But you are without a doubt one of the most negative pessamistic (sp) people to blog on the ajc. Do you ever have anything to bring to the table that might spark conversation or bring something to the table that you and fellow bloggers can conversate about, or carry on football conversation instead of insulting or saying the same thing over an over and over. It;s like you feel disrespected, or left beind because 99% of the time your posts are negative…..at least share your thoughts on your team and how GT’s season is going. It;s like you hate college football and everything about and everything that comes with it?????? What gives? Is college football really that bad that, that you feel compelled to post negative thoughts on a dily basis or when given the chance?
Thank god and greyhound I don’t know you in person!!!!
On to Tony-Yes those are great questions. The recruiting question is valid. Miss-R. Jones Hit-E. Berry. Am i to think that somehow E.Berry wentt o UT and got some kind of superior coaching that R. Jones didn’t get at UGA. Both were ranked #1 at their spot when they signed….just turns out E. Berry is a heck of a lot better.
I tihnk it;s the philosophy. It isn’t the same as when Richt came in. He built the program on his philosophy and it worked…..but its had alot of bricks taken out of it the last 2.5 years. Time to tweak it. What comes along with that I don’t know I’m not a coach……but the present isn’t working. Time to change it up.
JB
November 4th, 2009
10:06 am
Richt needs to be the face of the program, not the coach. The CEO. He needs to hire some pro’s to run both sides of the ball. This Georgia team has looked lost the last two years. He needs 4 to 5 new coach’s. Proven people. Not the DB coach from Wayne State to coach the D. Pay somebody with a track record and a name ONE MILLION to come run the defense. This will be the biggest off season in Athens in his Tenure. We all laughed at this guy in Knoxville being in the paper everyday making noise.
Tennessee is playing some ball………Same players……………different coach’s and mind set. If I hear ” we’re gonna work harder”.I’ll puke. It’s time for action. We can do better than 6-6 with Donnan.
Homer
November 4th, 2009
10:09 am
And what are Arizona State and Okie State now currently ranked? Doesn’t look so tough in hindsight.
Arizona State is 3-4 with a cupcake schedule, and OSU is about to be unranked.
senoiadawgs
November 4th, 2009
10:09 am
To those who say we have the best record over the last blah many years, rankings, whatever and that is why you support coach Richt. I will keep it simple for you.
You tell your boss, employees, fans, etc… that you are going to do something(Now imgaine you are getting paid 2+Million). Here are somethings that we have heard over the last couple of years that those of us with two eyes open have been asking and hearing that coach Richt WOULD FIX. All have been said at some point that they would be fixed prior to opening the 2009 season.
What happened to the junkyard dog D? Please don’t include 07 we played D for like 4 or 5 games that season. Willie is still employed
What happened to opening the playbook? It’s still half shut Maybe Bobo becomes a genius someday however he has no clue how to get the ball in the hands of playmakers in space, Ealey, Gray, Brown, Green, Wooten, T King, C King, Samuel, Moore, Charles, etc… Do you see how many options we have?
What happened to team discipline? The new Miami in Athens
What happened to cutting down on penalties? 119th out of 120
What happened to being a better turnover causing D? It’s hard to intercept a pass when the DB’s never look for the ball. Another blatant fault of Willie’s philosophy.
LSU, TN, MS State, etc… figured out how to slow down UF why couldn’t we? It was simple they didn’t let Tebow breathe in the pocket. While they didn’t win they didn’t let the pass beat them. That’s right Willie only believe in sending 4 or 5. Of course I don’t blame him almost Miller, Evans and Jones don’t have a clue but that is also his fault for not putting the better players in.
What happened to kicking the ball deep on kickoffs? You were going to go across the world to find someone when all along you had someone already kicking for you. Nice wasted scholarship there. Fabris is still employed.
The best players will play? UMMMM note, if Cox, Miller, Evans and Jones are the best we’ve got we have a huge problem. Just because a guy is a JR or SR doesn’t mean he is the best. This is 2009 not 1979 the game has changed in case you haven’t gotten the memo. Problem is we say Gray and Murray play in the spring. We have seen Smith all over receivers and out running the world. We have seen Rambo make big plays. Are those plays deleted from game tapes for the coaches.
What happened to tailback U? Let’s see in the last couple of years our coaches have redshirted a superstar because he couldn’t block. Now we find a RB in 09 and he can’t start anymore because he can’t block. Thank you for telling Auburn, GT, TNTech, and UK that when Ealey is in the game there will be no deep passes and 90% + of the plays will be running plays. In case you forgot the position is called RUNNING BACK not BLOCKING BACK.
As Barnhart said above, what happened to conditioning? We have clearly been gassed at the end of games this year.
What happened to pride in playing for UGA? We lost more at home now than on the road. Also it says a lot that we have so many people leaving early. In the last couple of years we have even had guys leave early who were not even first rounders.
To Jeff S, MB, Tucker and anyone who covers UGA. Why in the crap don’t you all press him when he is open to the media. I know there is courtesy and access issues involved but you all give him a complete pass when he is open to the media. I never hear anyone in the media press him about issues that are so blatant to the bulldog nation.
Dawg Fud
November 4th, 2009
10:12 am
Tony,
Point #4 is crap! Sack up and play somebody. I agree with Evans.
Say what you want about Florida’s schedule but when you have won national titles in ‘96 and ‘06 and ‘08 you don’t have to “spread your brand” with big time opponents because you have done that already with 3 national title appearances and crystal trophies.
I am so sick of hearing people complain about Florida’s schedule. Take care of your own house first!
JB
November 4th, 2009
10:13 am
Other than Willie, our biggest problem this year is we don’t have a bonafide SEC QB for the first time in awhile. We have lot’s of problems, but the two are HUGE.
OldDawg72
November 4th, 2009
10:14 am
Good points Tony. However, there are whispers and rumors that disturb me. The whispers are that the money in the athletic program (which is mainly produced by the football program) is being looted and sucked into the academic part of UGA. If CMR even mentions this autrocity, he is gone. Also, because of this looting, Martinez is all CMR can afford. How about some real investigative reporting to see if the rumors and whispers are true.
Whopper Dawg
November 4th, 2009
10:15 am
In reponse,
1. My first reaction is to say recruiting is fine. But then I think that right now we don’t have a SEC caliber QB on the roster that is not redshirting and our RBs are weak. I think we have a mix problem, no QB now, an all freshman Oline last year, recruiting seven DBs this year – doesn’t make sense,
looking like no planning by position.
2. Obviously not. Before we get to coaching to potential, you have to coach the fundamentals. There is no discipline and that is the head coach. At LEAST both coordinators need to go. We are becoming a national joke. Stafford and Moreno hid a lot of sin in the program. Next year will be worse without coaching change.
3. I don’t think so, but that is a little hard to evaluate. But we do not look to be in the same shape as the top tier programs. If there is not discipline on the field and the side line, there will not be discipline in the conditioning program.
4. Maybe so. Bama, LSU and FLA sure don’t play this type of schedule. It is not good to spread the UGA brand when the brand is getting its eyes beaten out.
5. I don’t think his personality has anything to do with it. But if you make mistakes, eventually you have to pay for them and Richt has made two big ones in Martinez and Bobo. If they are not corrected, it will get him. They are both substandard, and it is not debatable.
ugablows
November 4th, 2009
10:15 am
everyone always points to Richts earlier success, but have you ever considered that maybe he was NEVER really a great coach? he was just leaching off a great D-coordinator and Donnan’s great recruits?
senoiadawgs
November 4th, 2009
10:15 am
Amen Dawg Fud, we play in the SEC. We get to see great football. To all of those who donate so much to UGA is it to much to ask have good home games outside of the SEC? I say a schedule like this year’s is great. One cupcake a year. We already have Vandy and UK that should be beaten every year in addition to the cupcake game.
Win some national titles be the team that is talked about in the same breath as AL, FL, USC, TX, OK, OSU, etc… then you can schedule however you want to. Right now having an excellent season will only win over the voters if we have a tough schedule.
help, I live in Ga
November 4th, 2009
10:16 am
But he’s such a nice guy and never does anything to ruffle feathers. And everything he says is “coach speak” and did I mention he’s such a nice guy.
Go Vols
GOB
November 4th, 2009
10:16 am
UGA dropped the ball on Dwyer for sure. Having that kind of every down back would have taken so much pressure off of Cox. His official visit to UGA didn’t go too hot (same weekend as King’s visit), and there was apparently some tension between Dwyer’s family and King’s, with King getting a little better treatment from the staff.
I think that’s one they’d like to have back. He could have redshirted his freshman year behind Knowshown, split carries last year, and been then guy this year.
Gatorzip74
November 4th, 2009
10:17 am
Go Gators! I love Coach Richt and hopes he stays forever, kinda reminds me of old Ray Goof.
Gator Fans Great article by Mike Bianchi: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-sportsbianchi-column-spikes-04110409nov04,0,7520710.column
Liz boy
November 4th, 2009
10:17 am
Yea good point. I just do not think that Georgia has a clue what it is trying to do. But they sure do throw the ball too much. What up with that? And how about those running backs that they have—-have you noticed that they turn sideways when they are about to make contact with a tackler? Ugly man—–either run like a running back or go home and study or go back to the hood, we dont care which either. Get on with it or just dont show up. What is the point. This is football not dice. ——later—gator(food).
Matthews Dawg
November 4th, 2009
10:17 am
We have to get Bigger, Stronger and Faster!! Strength and Conditioning will fix things. I believe a new DC won’t hurt either. Otto Strahl, I think you are sadly mistaken. A few bad games last year and this year speaks for itself, bad. CMR has EARNED the right to fix things and that is this year and next year. Then if things are still going poorly, then evaluate him. Damon Evans wants to keep his job, so he will make sure that things don’t stay the same. We have to get Bigger, Stronger, Faster to compete. The strength/conditioning coach has to be evaluated! Dave Van Halenger, Rex Bradbury, Joe T’s daddy, Clay Walker and Keith Gray are the others that need evaluating. What they are doing in the weight room, etc… is NOT getting the job done on Sat’s!! Fix this and the DC with young upcoming coaches and all of this goes away. CMR is the best fit for UGA. I would be proud of my son to play for such a man! Great coach/Great man!! CMR will have to do the job or he will have to possibly look elsewhere! That is only if we struggle again next year. UGA has good football tradition, NOT GREAT! We are a football school and win a lot, but we don’t have the history that Alabama, USC, Texas, Oklahoma, (I hate to say it) UF. Which there history is only a couple of decades old. To have the tradition like the elites, you have to win multiple NC’s and we have NOT done that under ANY head coach. It may happen and I want it to happen. I believe that CMR can make it happen. But, he does have to change a few things in the program! I believe in CMR!! Go Dawgs
Gators for Richt
November 4th, 2009
10:21 am
All true Gators hope the Bulldogs keep their current coaches. They are good Christian men.
TommyP
November 4th, 2009
10:21 am
Recruiting is NOT the problem. If you feel that it is the problem, then the Floridas and Bamas and Tennessees of the world are missing on the talent too because we’re competing for the same talent. Just go to the offer list of each player and you’ll see the other big schools offering the same players.
Coaching is the problem. It’s THAT simple.
m
November 4th, 2009
10:22 am
I had a great time at the Pride festival. Tickle piles galore!!! Yummers:-)
reservoirDAWG
November 4th, 2009
10:22 am
Great article TB. The problem lies in attitude and WM.
Mike
November 4th, 2009
10:23 am
All you Tech deadbeats need to realize that you are to UGA what UGA is to FL… you win once every 8 years. Now STFU and go back to designing a better mouse trap.
Wildcat in Chicago
November 4th, 2009
10:23 am
Tony –
Read your blog every day, and generally agree with your points most of the time, but cannot agree with your basic premise on the schedule. When the accomplishments of teams like Boise (which has gone and will go on the road for OOC games because most automatic qualifying conference schools decline the opportunity to play in their blue-turfed snake pit) and Cincinnati (which does play in an AQ conference and goes on the road to other AQ schools) are looked down upon because of their schedules, and are often hit with the criticism that they play “horrible schedules” when, in fact, they would agree to home-and-homes or 2-for-1s if they could get them, here you are arguing that Georgia should follow the lead of the Floridas and Alabamas and pad their schedules with scrimmages.
On the contrary, an intersectional OOC schedule could be a net positive in recruiting for Georgia and Tennessee, to name two, given the brand that the SEC is building around the country with its new TV contracts. (LSU, for one, has scheduled VaTech, Arizona, Arizona St. and Washington on the road in recent years.) Many college basketball teams — Duke, for one — schedule games every year in parts of the country that have been historically fertile recruiting areas, such as New York City and Chicago, precisely to lure recruits from those areas with the promise that they will get to play games where their families can see them without traveling across country. This strategy, in part, is also behind the “barnstorming” that Notre Dame is building into its scheduling for the future, and also why ND finishes every year with a road game in either LA (USC) or San Francisco (Stanford).
This does not mean scheduling USC, Oklahoma, Texas or Ohio State every year (witness Texas playing Wyoming in Cheyenne), but in a conference where the status quo won’t distinguish Georgia from its peers, an intersectional OOC schedule component that includes road games could make a difference in elevating Georgia’s profile.
Bud
November 4th, 2009
10:25 am
Football ain’t rocket science, block, tackle, & run.
Bud
November 4th, 2009
10:26 am
whoever blocks, tackles, & runs the best wins.
Kirby Smart
November 4th, 2009
10:27 am
I’d rather drink turpentine & pi$$ on a brush fire than go back to that hell hole known as Athens. Last time I worked there, “Saint” Richt had me coaching running backs. I was GONE after 1 year. I love Coach Saban and will never leave him. I’m a BAMA boy now baby! F the dawwwwwwwwwgs
Todd
November 4th, 2009
10:29 am
TB, the schedule has nothing to do with a sloppy football team. Recruiting has nothing to do with a sloppy football team. Head coaches personality has nothing to do with a sloppy football team…….
I’ve seen enough out of Ga football now over the last 20 yrs. We all know the committment level of Florida, Alabama (now), Tenn (now).
It’s apparanent at the UGA, they don’t mean business when it comes to competing at the highest level.
Does anyone think Damon Evans compared to Jeremy Foley at Florida is comparable?
Damon Evans is a tool box, he’s a sharp, young guy who understands the finances of the Ath. Assoc. that’s it. The athletic board and a handful of top boosters call the shots and they “can’t hang” with Florida, Ala, and now Tenn.
I’m telling you right now, this thing is headed back to the 90’s where Ga was a permanent 3 in the SEC EAst.
I’m amazed at the way Richt recruited this past yr. This yr. it will slip, we will have casualties from the current committment list.
The Kitty up in Knuckersville represents the final straw for Mark Richt. He will run an evangelical non-profit in 2 more yrs.
G8R GRAD
November 4th, 2009
10:29 am
This kid’s a class act.
As seen yesterday at Rivals.com:
“A most unlikely person came to the defense of Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, who was suspended for half a game for apparently trying to gouge the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey
Ealey said Tuesday he doesn’t believe Spikes should have been suspended.
In fact, Ealey seemed surprised the play from Saturday’s game drew so much attention.
Florida coach Urban Meyer on Monday suspended Spikes for the first half of this week’s game against Vanderbilt after the defensive captain stuck his hand in Ealey’s helmet and appeared to try to stick his fingers in Ealey’s eyes.
Ealey says he doesn’t agree with those who have said the suspension was not stiff enough
That really didn’t matter to me,” Ealey said of the suspension. “That’s their decision. He shouldn’t, I think, get suspended at all. We were just out there playing football.”
Ealey said he had his eyes closed when Spikes stuck his hand in his helmet and he wasn’t hurt.
“He really didn’t gouge my eyes,” Ealey said. “He really didn’t get a chance to get close to my eyes.”
The freshman said he believes similar incidents happen all the time.
“I’m pretty sure it goes on back and forth,” he said. “We probably do it and other teams do too. It’s all football. We’re just out there trying to have fun.”
Numbers
November 4th, 2009
10:30 am
Hey Mike, sure Tech won once in the last 8 years, or twice in the last 9, or three times in the past 10, or four times in the past 11. Sure, it’s still a losing percentage, but the point is that your number games means absolutely crap! Talk about something relevant!
Oh, and by the way, Jan Kemp proved that uga’s sole championship wasn’t earned! (But she still did more for these students than anyone else in the history of the game).
Grandad
November 4th, 2009
10:30 am
John Wooden was mild mannered, he could also coach a little.
jbroswell
November 4th, 2009
10:32 am
amen…funny how everyone loved Richt’s demeanor when we were winning…kind of like Tom Osborne…why does everyone have 8 home games and we only have 6..
matt
November 4th, 2009
10:33 am
It would seem to me when a player is being offered by several big time schools that obviously the recruiting coordinators at these big time schools ALL think that this player is legit. If UGA was going off and recruiting a ton of kids that could either go to Samford or Athens then I would raise an eyebrow.
If I have 20 D-1 scholarship offers 10 of them are from major players such as Fl. Bama, Tenn, Texas, Ohio St. Notre Dame, Ok, and I choose UGA and I don’t pan out then I could be considered a player who just didn’t work out. However, if this seems to happen quite often over several recruiting classes with multiple players…seems to me the answer to question 2 is “no”.
SimpleDawg
November 4th, 2009
10:33 am
I’m beginning to think that our talent level isn’t what it needs to be in order to compete in the SEC, and on a National level.
I also think that the coaching staff has become stale and needs to be revamped.
Mark Richt needs to immulate Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp when he burst into the saloon, fired off both barrels of a shotgun and said, “….it all stops now !”
The bar has been raised.
This ain’t a limbo contest…it’s a high jump.
Somebody had better start jumping higher !
Five Questions Facing Mark Richt « The Grit Tree
November 4th, 2009
10:33 am
[...] Facing Mark Richt Published November 4, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment Mr. CFB Tony Barnhart has the five questions facing Mark Richt. Does he have what it takes to make the tough decisions? I hope it does. It [...]
dbc
November 4th, 2009
10:34 am
Didn’t we talk about all this same stuff after the Tech loss last year?
roan st
November 4th, 2009
10:35 am
Good article. Point #5 is the key. I’m not ready to run Mark Richt out of town like some over zealous UGA fans. But he must make changes to his coaching staff and instill some discipline in his players. If he decides to keep his current staff and continues to pay lip service to working on penalties and fixing things then he will just hang himself. Willie Martinez and some of the defensive staff must go. No more excuses for this guy because under Van Gorder we had one of the best defenses in college football and that is the main reason UGA was a top the SEC. I would be willing to give Bobo one more season to prove that he can get the job done. But Richt must make major changes in the offseason because minor cosmetic changes are going to spell his doom. Getting rid of Willie is a great place to start. If he doesn’t get rid of Willie after the season I will then solidly be in the fire mark richt camp. But at the moment Im in wait and see what happens mode.
matt
November 4th, 2009
10:35 am
Not to mention that if your arguing that the recruits UGA is getting aren’t as good as advertised you are saying that not only do the other recruiting coordinators not know how to evaluate talent but also that 2 nationally recognized recruiting services (Scout and Rivals) also don’t know how to evaluate talent.
G8R GRAD
November 4th, 2009
10:37 am
Gatorzip74:
Good article.
I spent the entire day yesterday agreeing that Spikes was wrong and should be punished, but the sanctimonious, self-righteous hipocrits calling for his suspension for the year (or the electric chair!) needed to take a good look in the mirror.
toga
November 4th, 2009
10:38 am
#6 Do you really think it is a good idea to have your wife on the sidelines serving water? Why not have grandma and grandpa on the sidelines holding your charts. What a joke! Can you imagine any of the top coaches having their wife on the sideline.
I know the Jeopardy Answer!!!
November 4th, 2009
10:39 am
In the early 1980’s…I wasn’t born yet but I am a successful businessman today with an MBA…so that was a LLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG time ago.
But based on several threads on the AJC I am guessing this is when UGA bought Walker the trans-am and gave his mom a new house?
What do I win???
Mutt Nonsense
November 4th, 2009
10:39 am
Interesting how Richt’s run of success just so happend to coincide with the Zook, Shula, and Bad Phil regimes. How is that he was a great coach when the SEC was down in key spots, but all of the sudden isn’t so great when other programs are at the level they should be? Wait actually, that’s not that tough of a question.
Michael Adams
November 4th, 2009
10:40 am
Hey Gators for Richt I know you hope we keep all our coaches but guess what we wont.
BG
November 4th, 2009
10:41 am
Mark Richt owns Georgia Tech! Look at his record aganist tech. HAHAHAHAHAHA
Cuz
November 4th, 2009
10:42 am
At the end of the year, Willie will get a nice severence package of about half a million. Damon will then announce a nationwide search by a private paid search committee for about half a million. At the end of a month they will have gotten shot down by Smart, Mushchamp, Strong, Chavis, Venables(Oklahoma) and Bumpas(TCU). Damon then will have a press conference with Mark Richt to announce that the best choice is Rodney Garner for DC and announce a pay raise of half a million for him. To be fair, they will give half a million in salary increase to Mike Bobo. So at the end of the process, UGA will be out two million dollars and have Rodney as the DC.
Don’t believe me, just wait.
DawgGirl32
November 4th, 2009
10:42 am
All great points, Tony.
Scheduling is kind of like “the chicken before the egg” scenario. I read a Gator comment up there saying that they didn’t need to spread their brand because they’ve already won NCs. Well, maybe a soft schedule helped them do that. If UGA has a soft schedule but has a very successful year, wouldn’t that work just as well to “spread our brand?”
Recruiting goes both ways. Richt may have dropped the ball on Dwyer but he definitely didn’t on Knowshon or Stafford or Rennie Curran or AJ Green. Maybe Dwyer has especially flourished under Johnson because he plays in a…..running offense. The truth is, we’ll really never know how well he would’ve done at UGA because they are indeed two very different offenses. I do wonder, though, what it would be like to have more underrated David Pollacks and less overrate Reshad Joneses.
The off-season conditioning theory is interesting. You mentioned Florida as having one of the hardest off season conditionings at date. I seem to remember many, many UGA players including a lot of seniors who said that this year’s off season conditioning was the hardest they had ever faced at UGA.
I think #2 and #5 might be your most valid points, Tony. I am very hopeful that Mark Richt will take a long look in the mirror and do what needs to be done. I really don’t want anyone else as UGA’s head coach.
Bud
November 4th, 2009
10:43 am
Toga I really do not believe his wife being on the sideline is the problem. Do you? Remind me again. What has Bama won the last 10 years?
Mutt Nonsense
November 4th, 2009
10:43 am
G8R GRAD,
Good post.
I like this Ealey kid more and more. He’s a great player who’s going to abuse teams as he gets better and learns how to use his immense talent.
Also, I love that for all the hunker down, junkyard dawg nonsense, he’s the only person associated with UGA that didn’t want to crucify Spikes and HE WAS DIRECTLY INVOLVED. Take a lesson from your own team Mutt fans. You’re whiners looking for any reason to bring people better than you down. Ealey on the other hand understands what he needs to do. Just respond and WIN on the field. No room for all this crying.
Tom S
November 4th, 2009
10:45 am
Tony –
I’d say Tech has three backs (not just Dwyer) better than anything that UGa has: Dwyer + Allen and Jones. Richt’s eye for RB’s is worse than you suggest.
But why all the handwringing about Georgia? We get it — they are mediocre this year. It’s not like it’s shocking with what they lost to the draft.
Let’s hear more about maybe the best coach in football. What Johnson has done is truly amazing. He will be the reaon that Richt’s rein in Athens ends shortly. The Georgia folks don’t seem to mind too much getting eaten alive by UF for two decades, but I’ll bet that three losses in a row to Tech and Richt will be gone. Mark that down — he’ll be out at the end of next year.
Dooley's Cardiologist
November 4th, 2009
10:45 am
WTH,
That is the DUMBEST thing I have ever heard!!! haha…wow..
PTC DAWG
November 4th, 2009
10:45 am
You would think that the GT fans would be more concerned with their VERY good team this year, but it seems that nothing has changed. We’ll talk after the UGA/GT game, should be interesting.
coach smith
November 4th, 2009
10:45 am
Anyone who wants the Dawgs to give up, and have no faith that they can turn it around this season and beyond
LEAVE!!! Go be a fan of Tech (I hear they always have seats available)!
Most of you spewing this sort of crap are not UGA fans anyway or you are front runners who jumped on when the Dawgs were riding high
I say again if that is your attitude, THE DAWGS DON’T NEED FANS LIKE YOU
There are waiting lists of fans trying to get seats at Sanford Stadium, the Dawgs are on National TV pretty much every game, there are 10 true fans waiting to take the place of front running knee-jerk morons like the ones of you spewing this……
SO GO and don’t come back when the Red and Black gets that big machine running back down the track!
SOUTHGADAWG88
November 4th, 2009
10:47 am
Good article Tony.I am a firm believer that talent wins out in the long run of a program.When you talk recruiting most UGA fans spout out two things..1.UGA has all these 5 star players so talent is not a problem.2.UGA is always ranked in the top 10 in recruiting so talent is not a problem.No 1 is not true flat out and no 2 is misleading.UGA has signed 9 5 star players under Richt.FLA had 22,LSU 19 TENN 17 ALA 11 with 8 in last 3 years.Those are the facts…fans tend to overhype our success on the recruiting trail…truth is we have lagged behind the other top programs in the SEC in this regard.5 stars are not the end all in recruiting sure but the difference between a 5 and a 4 can be huge.Tebow/Cox Berry/Evans Spikes/Gamble AJ Green/Troupe etc.The second one is true but misleading…yes we have finished in the top 10 alot…but what people conveniently overlook is the fact that we still lag behind other top programs in the SEC in this regard as well.Let’s go back to 07.UGA 9th with 0 5*.FLA 1st with 4 5 *.LSU 4thwith 2 5*.TENN 3rd with 5 5 *.ALA10th with o 5*.08 ALA 1st 3 5’s.LSU 2nd 2 5’s.FLA 3rd 4 5’s.UGA 9th 2 5’s.Tenn no 35th 0 5’s.09 ALA no1st 4 5’s.LSU 2nd 4 5’s.UGA 6th 1 5.TENN 10th 2 5’s.FLA 11TH 3 5′S.Just for fun the 10 numbers right now are LSU 3RD ALA 5TH,TENN 6TH,FLA 7TH and UGA 8TH.When you look at the actual rankings it may surprise a lot of folks that as good as we have been we are around 4th best in the SEC in recruiting never having a top ranked class.Our talent is superb compared to an ACC team but SEC we are only OK. We could use some fresh ideas and angles for sure at the CO positions I agree but I think talent is a bigger issue than most will admit.As for the scheduling I will say this UGA is a unique program..most teams have 3 rivals…we have 5.ALA-AUB,LSU,TENN LSU-ALA,Ole MISS,?FLA-UGA,TENN,FSU.TENN-UGA,FLA,ALA.UGA-FLA,AUB,GT,TENN and SC.We have a tough enough schedule as it is…it’s ok when AUB,TENN and GT are down but when the rise back up as they all will the schedule is brutal.Throw in the fact that LSU and ALA will rotate in there occasion and it get’s asinine.We have to regroup and reload because the path is not getting any easier but Richt is a great one in the making and I don’t think the “fans” appreciate just what we have
mikie g.
November 4th, 2009
10:47 am
Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh.
DAWGS havebeen neutered
November 4th, 2009
10:47 am
The best part about that Florida game last week–was watching SUPERMAN break Walker’s record against a terrible UGA defense! UGA is overated every year!!! I had rather play them than Georgia Tech! Atleast Tech is well coached! Well time to go win another National Championship boys! Had fun last weekend–as always —-GATOR MIKE
Nutt
November 4th, 2009
10:49 am
I love the Vols fans talking about how great Kiffin is. What has he done other than beat a bad UGA team and play Florida and Alabama close?
calvin
November 4th, 2009
10:49 am
BG wrote:
> Mark Richt owns Georgia Tech! Look at his record aganist tech.
> HAHAHAHAHAHA
Two of those games were given to Georgia by Reggie Ball.
In any case, Richt’s streak against Tech ended last year,
and ‘ownership’ went with it.
DP
November 4th, 2009
10:49 am
On the recruiting issue, the Birmingham News has an article of interest. They use the average of national recruiting rankings for the 5 years from 2005-09 and compare them to how the teams are doing to see who looks to be overachieving and who is underachieving. Georgia’s recruiting classes averaged #4 nationally over a 5 year period. While recruiting is an inexact science and some highly rated players don’t pan out, if you’re consistently recruiting at that level there’s no way you don’t have a lot of talent on your roster. Here is the link and some snips from the article:
http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-sports/2009/11/based_on_recruiting_usc_uga_ar.html
We’ve taken the annual recruiting rankings on Rivals.com from 2005 to 2009, averaged them for each team, and come up with our own recruiting rankings.
The underachievers —
Start with USC. The Trojans won two recruiting national titles, finished in the recruiting top 10 all five years and signed more five-star prospects (21) than Alabama and LSU combined. Yet losses to Washington and Oregon knocked Pete Carroll’s Trojans out of the national hunt.
USC certainly isn’t alone. Georgia is trying to stay at .500 despite the fourth-best crop over the same period. And Florida State’s success on the recruiting trail hasn’t translated on the playing field, where Bobby Bowden may be headed for a forced retirement.
Other national surprises —
Stanford (No. 45 in recruiting but in the thick of the Pac-10 race), Georgia Tech (No. 51 class but in the AP Top 10) and Houston (No. 84 but ranked eighth this week).
Voice of Reason
November 4th, 2009
10:50 am
Tony said: “And you know what happened in the early 80s.”
Yes Tony…we remember.
Her name was: Jan Kemp.
toga
November 4th, 2009
10:51 am
Bud-
Could you work with your wife sitting next to you all day?
Alabama has 12 National Titles and holds a winning record against every SEC school.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Roll Tide.
Einsteindawg
November 4th, 2009
10:51 am
Sometime during the past 18 months, CMR has contracted the dreaded “Bobby Cox Syndrone”. A rare ailment causing unfounded loyalty and stubborness and clouding one’s judgement. If left untreated, the infected person will incur the rath and criticism of loyal fans, develop a complacent (ie: lazy) attitude, and have excessive weight gain, especially around the middle. Other side-effects may be the frequent use of nicknames and a fondness for peanuts. There are several cures; however, the one that works best is separating yourself from an inbred system of coaches and surrounding yourself with innovative people.